The present invention pertains generally to livestock trailers and more particularly to a livestock trailer which is convertible to a grain hauling trailer.
Most of the livestock animals raised on farms are taken to market, or to other farms or ranches, by means of tractor-trailer truck. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the livestock business, it usually happens that the truck-trailer must return empty after having delivered a load of livestock to market. Of course, a truck traveling great distances without a load represents an inefficient use of resources. If a means could be provided whereby the load carrying capability of the truck could be at least partially used in carrying a useful load on the return trip, a savings in operating expenses and resources could be realized.
It often turns out that the same farmers and ranchers who send livestock to market often have feed grain for the animals trucked in. It would therefore be convenient if the same trailer which hauls livestock to market could be used for bringing a load of grain back to the farm.
Unfortunately, because livestock trailers have become very specialized in their construction, most of them are unsuitable for hauling grain. For one thing, they are usually constructed with slotted or gapped side walls to allow ventilation air into the animals, and of course grain would spill from these slots. For another reason, the most efficient type of livestock trailer uses a double decked arrangement or second floor in the center part of the trailer to increase the number of animals that can be carried. The multiple compartments thus created present a problem for carrying grain, because the grain would have to be somehow loaded into and out of the various compartments, and if this were to be done by manual labor, any savings in transportation costs would easily be offset by the great labor costs.
Another problem is that such trailers lack the load carrying capability to carry grain. Livestock trailers are designed to be as light as possible, while still being adequately strong to carry a load of livestock, since excess weight in the trailer represents wasted fuel consumption, for the tractor. However, the load of grain is much heavier than a load of livestock, because while a load of livestock includes a considerable amount of empty space around and between animals, a load of grain is much more compact and concentrated in terms of weight per volume. Thus, it is not possible to completely fill the trailer with grain. However, even filling the trailer only part way with grain, in order to keep the total weight down, is still generally not feasible with livestock trailers because even a partial load of grain will typically impose weight concentrations on the floors far in excess of the weight per square foot design considerations for livestock loads.